Closing the Achievement Gap Series: Part I – Is Indiana Ready for State-Sponsored Prekindergarten Programs? - In 2004, 38 states offered publicly-funded prekindergarten programs to increase school readiness of three- and four-year-old children and to help close student academic achievement gaps that persist in elementary and secondary schools. As of the writing of this brief, Indiana does not provide publicly-funded prekindergarten programs. The brief addresses major policy questions regarding publicly-funded prekindergarten programs, including: (1) Why should Indiana invest in prekindergarten? (2) Who should be served? What should prekindergarten look like in Indiana? (3) And how much will it cost? In an effort to answer these questions, the authors seek to inform policymakers about the feasibility of prekindergarten as a strategy that complements the push for full-day kindergarten funding and maximize the opportunity for critical cognitive development and school preparedness for Indiana children. (Michael Conn-Powers, Alice F. Cross, and Jason S. Zapf, Center for Evaluation and Education Policy, Summer 2006)
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